The break-up of the UK is a matter for all of us Mr Salmond, not just the Scots

The prospect of a referendum on Scottish independence raises more questions than answers.

First there are what the politicians like to call "process" matters - the rules of the game, so to speak.

The insufferably self-satisfied Alex Salmond (what would Ed Miliband give for some of that chutzpah?) wants the referendum in autumn 2014 so he can play Braveheart to the English invaders.

Challenge: Mr Salmond has unveiled plans to hold a referendum in 2014 ¿ setting the scene for a stand-off between Westminster and Holyrood over the future of the UK

Salmond calculates that the 700th anniversary of the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will rouse the Scots to such fits of patriotic fervour that they rally to his foolhardy campaign.

The trouble is Salmond does not have the legal power to call a binding referendum - that lies with the Westminster Parliament.

So we can expect much posturing and whingeing from the Scottish leader as he tries to outflank David Cameron's move to bring the issue to a head in 2013.

Then there is the question of the question on the ballot paper. Cameron and leading figures in the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties want a straight yes/no to the matter of an independent Scotland.

Concern: David Cameron's row with Alex Salmond over Scottish independence is threatening to escalate into a constitutional crisis

Salmond wants to hedge his bets. He knows that with the latest polling from Mori giving the No side a 57/38 lead, it is unlikely that the Scots will vote to go it alone - whenever a ballot is called.

So wily old Alex wants another question on the ballot paper - so called "Devo-Max" - which would amount to a beefed up form of devolution under which the Scots get all the goodies and the English get to pay for them - and which, surprise, surprise, is backed by 68 per cent of Scots.

With the three main parties all firmly in the unionist camp, Salmond faces an uphill fight to get his way.

Next is who gets to vote? Presumably, those people on the electoral roll in Scotland at the time of the referendum.

Independence: With the three main parties firmly supporting the union, Salmond faces an uphill struggle

But what about Scots living in England or even further afield? Some of them will want to have their say in a ballot that threatens to reverse a 300-year-old constitutional arrangement. Perhaps we will see some of them seeking to register to vote in Scotland.

Then we have the English, Welsh and Northern Irish. They are being denied any say on the potential break-up of their country - the United Kingdom, a cause for resentment in some quarters, you might expect.

After all, the UK would be profoundly affected by an independent Scotland.

Our national security would be gravely compromised if we were forced to withdraw our armed forces from north of the border and leave it to a tartan army (and navy and air force?) to defend hundreds of miles of largely deserted coastline.

Then there is the small matter of our nuclear deterrent based at Faslane.

What would happen to that if Scotland went independent and, presumably, nuclear free? None of our naval ports are suitable homes for our Trident submarines.

We might get some of our money back (the £11 billion a year taxpayer subsidy to Scotland). But equally we might find it far harder to defend ourselves from potential aggressors. And we can expect endless rows about who should benefit from the remaining North Sea oil and gas fields.

Scottish Parliament: The UK would be profoundly affected by an independent Scotland

The principle has already been agreed across the political parties that only Scotland will vote on Scottish independence. But I suppose there is nothing to stop a few million English taking a long vacation around referendum time and putting their names on Scottish electoral registers? Expect a big turn-out for the Ryder Cup.

So much for the process questions. There are plenty of others - though ones mainly for the Scots. Do they want to join the EU in their own right and be bossed around by the big boys such as France and Germany? Would they like to join the euro and be bossed around even more? They may find themselves pining for the days when they were only bossed around by the English.

Do they want to replace the Queen as head of state, and if so with whom?

Perhaps Mr Salmond intends to volunteer once he has done his stint as Scotland's first prime minister. An alternative would be to revive the Scottish monarchy (a little cobwebbed at present) or alternatively they could elect one of those ghastly balsa-wood presidents to be found presiding over the less prominent bits of Europe.

How will they set up their own army, navy and airforce? These things don't come cheap. Or, to borrow a line from Monty Python, have they found somewhere where they can hire bombers by the hour?

Process and policy. They both matter a lot when it comes to ending a marriage dating back to the 18th Century.

The scale of the questions raised by the simple-minded call for an independent Scotland suggest that Mr Salmond's hopes of a Braveheart remake in 2014 may be disappointed.

John Major was right about one thing in the 1997 election campaign when he denounced Tony Blair's plans for Scottish devolution as a first step on the road to the break-up of the UK.

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Scottish independence: Alex Salmond, the break-up of the UK is a matter for all of us